Ken O'Flynn

572. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health what interim monitoring or assurance mechanisms her Department relies upon where complete hospital-group-level reporting of consultant evening, weekend and public holiday hours is not available, and to state the date on which each such mechanism commenced. [15907/26]

573. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department receives, on a scheduled and recurring basis, written reports from the Health Service Executive specifically relating to gender identity services provided to persons under 18 years of age; if so, the frequency of such reports; the categories of data included, including activity levels, waiting list numbers, safeguarding notifications, adverse incidents and clinical outcomes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15918/26]

574. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has required the Health Service Executive to provide any dedicated safeguarding assurance report, audit report, or governance review relating specifically to gender identity services for minors since 1 January 2020; if so, the date of each such report and whether it has been reviewed at Secretary General or Corporate Governance Committee level; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15919/26]

575. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether the Department has established any formal oversight framework, reporting template, performance dashboard, or key performance indicators specific to gender identity services for persons under 18 years of age; and if not, whether she intends to establish such a framework. [15920/26]

576. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department maintains a formal monitoring or compliance framework to assess the timeliness and completeness of responses provided by bodies under her aegis to Parliamentary Questions and other formal requests from Members of the Oireachtas; and if so, the nature of that framework and the office responsible for maintaining it. [15921/26]

577. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has recorded, since 1 January 2023, any concerns, warnings, or internal assessments regarding the adequacy or timeliness of responses provided by Children’s Health Ireland to Members of the Oireachtas; and if so, the number of such recorded instances and the governance actions taken. [15922/26]

578. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether decisions relating to the publication or non-publication of reports concerning Children’s Health Ireland are recorded in writing within her Department; whether a central register of such decisions is maintained; and the grade or office responsible for oversight of such publication decisions. [15923/26]

579. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department applies standardised criteria, guidance, or written policy when determining whether reports concerning bodies under her aegis should be published; and if so, to provide the title and date of such policy. [15924/26]

580. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has established, approved, or required any national key performance indicators relating to recruitment clearance timelines across the six health regions established under Sláintecare; if not, whether this represents a deliberate policy decision; and the governance rationale for not applying national clearance benchmarks in a devolved regional recruitment structure. [15947/26]

584. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to specify the statutory provision, regulation, circular, or formal policy instrument under which elective procedures without medical indication are authorised within the public hospital system; and to confirm whether any formal legal advice has been obtained by her Department regarding the permissibility of allocating publicly funded hospital resources to such procedures. [15976/26]

585. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has conducted, commissioned, or received any review assessing whether decisions by the six HSE health regions to authorise elective procedures without medical indication are applied consistently nationwide; and if she will provide details of any such review. [15977/26]

586. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has conducted any assessment of the impact on waiting lists, theatre utilisation, or paediatric surgical capacity arising from the allocation of theatre time to elective procedures undertaken without medical indication; and if she will publish any such assessment. [15978/26]

587. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health to state under which programme headings, service plans, or budget subheads expenditure on elective procedures undertaken without medical indication is recorded; whether such expenditure is separately identifiable within Departmental or HSE accounts; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15979/26]

588. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has conducted any internal policy or distributional analysis of the impact of maintaining current medical card income thresholds for persons aged 70 years and over following the 2025 State Pension increase; if so, the date of such analysis; whether the findings were submitted to her for decision; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15980/26]

589. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department sought advice from the ESRI in relation to the projected distributional impact of increasing medical card income thresholds for persons aged 70 years and over by €10 per week in line with the 2025 State pension increase; whether a policy recommendation was made to her arising from that modelling exercise; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15981/26]

590. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any consideration was given in Budget 2026 to adjusting medical card income thresholds for persons aged 70 years and over in line with pension increases; whether this option was costed by her Department; and if she will outline the policy rationale for maintaining existing thresholds. [15982/26]

591. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has assessed the number of persons aged 70 years and over whose income exceeds the Department of Social Protection State Pension by less than €20 per week and who are therefore at potential risk of medical card ineligibility under current thresholds; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15983/26]

592. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of External Governance Reviews undertaken pursuant to Sections 38 and 39 of the Health Act 2004 between 2022 and 2024 that identified material financial, governance, procurement, safeguarding or internal control deficiencies; the number in each year that resulted in enhanced monitoring arrangements, revised service level agreements, funding conditions or restrictions, recovery of funds, suspension or withholding of payments; and if she will provide a breakdown by category of action taken. [15984/26]

593. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of External Governance Reviews commenced between 2022 and 2024 that remain open; the average duration of review completion; and whether any review has resulted in referral to internal audit, external audit, or An Garda Síochána. [15985/26]

594. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether all non-statutory bodies in receipt of direct HSE funding, including those in receipt of less than €3 million annually, are subject to a structured governance review cycle; and if not, the criteria used to determine inclusion or exclusion. [15986/26]

595. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether summary findings of External Governance Reviews are published; and if not, the reasons for the absence of public transparency in respect of governance findings in publicly funded bodies. [15987/26]

599. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the total number of apprentices employed by the Health Service Executive in 2025 and projected for 2026 in (a) social work, (b) social care work, and (c) dietetics; and if she will provide a breakdown by programme and year of intake. [16010/26]

600. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the total gross expenditure incurred by the Health Service Executive in 2025 and the projected expenditure for 2026 in respect of apprenticeship programmes in social work, social care work, and dietetics, including salary costs, academic costs, employer PRSI, and any grant income received from the National Apprenticeship Office; and if she will provide a programme-level breakdown. [16011/26]

601. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether her Department has approved any workforce planning model or projection which quantifies the projected staffing shortfall to 2030 in social work, social care work, and dietetics; if so, to provide the projected shortfall figures by year; and how current apprenticeship intake levels align with those projections. [16012/26]

602. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health whether any formal policy decision has been taken to fund apprenticeship expansion in the health and social care professions without a dedicated subhead or ring-fenced allocation within the Vote for the Health Service Executive; and the governance rationale for funding apprenticeship costs from within existing service budgets. [16013/26]